The last time anyone saw Police Officer Ramon Suarez, he was racing inside the World Trade Center just after pulling two people from the burning towers.

Suarez, who raced from the Delancey Street subway stop where he was stationed, jumped into a taxi, along with his partner, Officer Mark Ellis, and commandeered it toward the towers minutes after hearing of a second plane crashing into the World Trade Center.

Once there, the two were separated. Suarez ran into the lobby of the north tower and carried out an asthmatic woman who was hyperventilating after running down 49 flights of stairs.

Suarez, 45, a native of Puerto Rico who grew up in East Harlem, rushed inside again and pulled out another woman. He then ran back into the building trying to look for more survivors.

He was never seen again.

Thousands of tearful police officers lined up yesterday outside St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church in Ridgewood, Queens, to honor Suarez’s courage and remember him as “one of those men who deserve to be remembered forever.”

Mayor Giuliani said Officer Suarez will “forever live in history” as someone who showed tremendous valor during the city’s worst tragedy.

Giuliani then turned to Suarez’s 9-year-old daughter, Jillian, who was sitting in the front row clutching her father’s patrol hat, and said, “He’s a great man. He’s a hero. He’s respected by everybody.”

Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said the bravery displayed by officers like Suarez are what make the NYPD the best police force in the world.

“Ray Suarez loved this shield. He loved that uniform,” Kerik said, pointing to Suarez’s flag-draped coffin. “He did exactly what he would do every day – he represented the NYPD’s best.”

Kerik then recounted how Suarez and Ellis, whose body was recovered Friday from ground zero, got separated near the towers and how both went on a frantic mission to save soot-covered people from the buildings.

Suarez, who also volunteered as a track coach at St. Matthias Middle School, was also remembered as a man who urged kids to do their best.

“He was a really great coach,” said Joseph Auerbach, 10. “He didn’t care if you came in first or fifth. He just cared if you did your best.”